Without You
by snarkysweetness
Summary: Set before they meet up with Hook, Emma and Mulan bond over their shared experiences while Emma finally deals with the issue of August.


**Title:** Without You  
**Author:** snarkysweetness  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Characters:** Emma, Mulan, Snow, & August (Dream); Emma/August & Mulan/Phillip  
**Summary:** Set before they meet up with Hook, Emma and Mulan bond over their shared experiences while Emma finally deals with the issue of August.  
**Warnings:** Mild angst.  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.  
**Author's Notes:** I want to hug poor Emma, stuck in a land where she has no clue what's going on. I'm glad her mommy is hugging her, at least. Emma and Snow addressing August is something I want to see on the show, especially since I don't think Emma's processed his 'death' yet.

_Emma burst through the door, gasping for air._

"_August, I-"_

_A small sob escaped her as she approached the bed._

"_No."_

_August was still wooden, just as she'd left him. She hadn't broken the curse in time to save him. He was gone._

"_August!"_

Emma shot up, his name still on her lips. With a choked sob, Emma ran a hand over her face, trying to block the images of August's body from her mind.

"Who's August?"

She looked up to find the voice that had interrupted her thoughts.

"No one," Emma whispered, her voice trembling. With a shaky hand, she pushed herself off of the ground and moved towards the fire. If she was going to be awake she might as well help keep guard.

Mulan wasn't one to ask questions, she just glanced at Emma skeptically for a brief moment before adding kindling to the fire.

Emma checked for the dagger in her boot. Satisfied that she was armed, Emma took a seat on a log near the warmth of the fire.

"This must be difficult for you," Mulan whispered after a moment. "Being in a new realm and separated from your son."

Emma closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. She'd been pushing her emotions deep down since they'd arrived; not having time to deal with her sadness. As much as she missed Henry and wanted to mourn for August, the only thing she could focus on was getting back home to Henry. She couldn't afford to fall apart, not now.

"I'll be fine once I get back to him," Emma whispered.

"Is August your husband?"

Emma laughed and then shook her head.

"No, I am not the marriage type."

Mulan gawked at Emma in confusion.

"But you have a son."

"Yeah, well marriage isn't really required in the whole making a baby thing."

"I know, but you're a princess. The only type of women who have children out of wedlock ar-" Mulan censored herself, realizing that she was about to make an assumption about Emma.

With a sigh, Emma tossed in some more wood for the fire.

"That's not how it works in ou-my world. Plus, I never knew I was a princess, so…" Emma shrugged.

Mulan stared into the fire, looking lost for a moment.

"Regina destroyed everyone, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did," Emma said, thinking about what her life could have been like without the curse. She would have had her parents, grown up in a castle, and she'd still have August.

But then she wouldn't have had Henry and she wouldn't trade him for anything.

"What did she take from you?" Emma asked, realizing she didn't know anything about Mulan.

Mulan looked up, surprised that Emma was interested.

"We lost all of our memories and they were replaced with new lives. Time stopped. And then one day-"

"I broke the curse and you all remembered everything?"

Mulan nodded.

"And then your friend was killed."

Pain flickered in Mulan's eyes and Emma realized that perhaps Mulan could understand what she was going through.

"Was he more than a friend? I get it, you were all cursed-"

Mulan stood, not wanting to discuss it.

"I should check the perimeter of the camp. You should get some rest, Your Majesty."

Emma rolled her eyes and watched as Mulan disappeared into the tree. With a sigh she leaned against the nearest tree trunk, not sure she could sleep, but needing to rest her sore back.

As she stared into the fire, her thoughts went back to August. Her biggest regret was that she'd never allowed herself to return his feelings because she'd been too afraid to take the chance. Emma fell into a restless sleep, dreaming about Henry and August, wishing that she could be with the both of them again.

When she woke, she turned to find her mother watching her with a sad look on her face. Feeling like a small child who'd caught mommy crying, Emma sat up and rubbed at her eyes.

"What?"

"He loves you. I see it every time he looks at you and the way he is with Henry. And I know you don't know how to do relationships very well and you may not want to admit it, but you love him too. And I'm sure he misses you as much as you miss him."

Emma closed her eyes and tried not to rage at her mother.

"Was I talking in my sleep again?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful."

Emma stood and began to gather their supplies, her entire body ready to shake with pent up emotions.

"He can't miss me, because he's-"

She closed her eyes and tried to fight back her pain, but when Snow wrapped her arms around Emma's shoulders, she lost it and began to sob against her mother, blubbering about August dying. Emma told Snow everything; how he'd taken her place in the wardrobe, how he blamed himself for leaving her, about their fight in the woods, how she blamed herself for not saving him, and how Henry would never forgive her for letting August die.

"Please don't be angry with him or Mar-Geppetto. You did the same thing with me," Emma whispered.

Snow pulled Emma's head down and kissed the top of it.

"There's no point in getting upset over it now," Snow whispered as she ran her hands through Emma's hair and then pulled her in for another hug. "We're going to get back home to Henry and your father and then…we'll be together."

Together. Not fine. Nothing would ever make losing August okay but Emma would settle for her family being together. Shaking her mother off, Emma wiped at her eyes, more determined than ever to get back to Henry, the only man she needed in her life.


End file.
